Nov. 5, 2010

Introducing ... Evan Bryce Kirby!

Both kids are asleep, and now that I'm sitting down to write this, they'll surely wake up, but I might as well squeeze in what I can with however much time I have ...

Yesterday was Evan's three-week birthday and if I don't get this down I'm going to forget all the details of his birth. It's already a bit hazy.

Labor this time was as different as it could possibly have been from Claire's labor and delivery. Thank the Lord! I had a wonderful nurse who was incredibly attentive. Halfway through the day I found out why -- I was her only patient. Sweet! One of the nicest things she did was take notes for me throughout the day, which I didn't even know she was doing until it was all over and she handed me this:So there's the play-by-play for you.

Things started out a little slow but before long I was in a good pattern of regular contractions, thanks to the pitocin. Once the doctor finally broke my water (he was attending to us in between running errands around town -- we thought he was joking when he first told us this, but realized later he was serious), things progressed quickly.

I got the epidural soon after that -- this time I didn't consider not having one, and I know people have passionate opinions for and against epidurals, but there is no doubt it was the right decision. The pain was never unbearable. In fact, getting the epidural was probably the worst part of the whole day (but so worth it!).

Before long I started to feel pressure and the nurse checked me and I was dilated to 6.5. Just a few minutes later I felt a lot more pressure and she checked me again and I was at 10 cm! I couldn't believe it. She started prepping for delivery and called the doctor to tell him to get there ASAP. About 30 minutes later they gave me the go-ahead to start pushing, and just a few minutes after that Evan was born. I could not believe how much easier the entire process was. I now feel like I've experienced an extremely easy labor and an extremely difficult one and I just wish I knew which was the fluke.

During Claire's labor the nurses wouldn't let me eat, and I know that was a major contributor to my exhaustion. How are you supposed to have the energy to give birth if you haven't eaten in more than a day? This time, Matt and I were prepared. We brought tons of food to the hospital and Matt kept me well-fed. Our nurse didn't officially condone this but she definitely looked the other way. She also understood the powers of ice-cold Coke and kept me supplied with them.

The main issue with Claire, of course, was that she was sunny-side-up. Evan wasn't. Thank you, Evan! Thank you, God!

Evan weighed exactly the same at birth as Claire did, but he was about an inch shorter (7 pounds 9 ounces, 20.5 inches). Of course, Claire had a conehead from the vaccuum, so they were probably actually about the exact same size.

He's a good baby so far -- eats constantly (no jaundice, and was already up to 8 pounds 10 ounces at his two-week appointment) and sleeps pretty well. Nights are far from perfect but they're already much improved. Claire has her moments but overall she's adjusting very well. She likes Evan a lot, and is constantly kissing him and asking to hold him and suggesting that he needs food or his pacifier. The decreased access to my lap is the main thing she's having to get used to, but the clinginess that defined the first few days home from the hospital has pretty much disappeared and she's back to normal.

Friends and family kept us supplied with meals since his birth, and now we have Thanksgiving leftovers to enjoy. Not only did it simplify life to have meals brought to us, we have acquired at least half a dozen delicious new recipes. I highly recommend it.

Recovery was quick -- it's essentially complete now. I ran for the first time since his birth yesterday and it was wonderful, albeit slow.

I have much more to write about all of this but I will wait and post it on my main blog -- which, despite evidence to the contrary, I have not abandoned. One of these days I'll get my groove back!

The plan

This afternoon I had my 40 weeks (and 1 day) appointment. I'm 2 cm. dilated and about 80 percent effaced, which isn't that impressive, but on the other hand I didn't get to that point with Claire until almost 12 hours after my water had broken.

I am still hoping to go into labor naturally, but we scheduled an induction for this Friday if things don't start rolling on their own before then. It's impossible for me not to overthink this, and I'm sure it will be fine no matter how it plays out, but I think I'm comfortable with this plan.

There is one doctor I very much do not want to deliver Evan and that doctor happens to be on vacation until Monday. My first-choice doctor (who knows me, knows how to use forceps and reportedly does a good job with circumcisions) is on call Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. He promised me this labor will not span three days like Claire's did.

I'm curious whether things will progress naturally. I've never had contractions without Pitocin -- not even Braxton Hicks contractions. I have no idea why, or whether this is common.

Anyway, that's the update. We'll post news on Facebook as it happens and Matt will also send out email updates, I'm sure. Here's hoping things go more smoothly than last time!

Waiting is the hardest part

Well, here we are at 39 weeks and 3 days, still 1 cm. dilated and 50 percent effaced, still no contractions or other signs of labor ... all the same stats as last week. Evan's still moving great and everything looks fine, apparently he's just comfortable in there.
I'm tired of hearing myself complain. By any standard, this has been an(other) extraordinarily easy pregnancy and even now I'm not uncomfortable or in pain, just impatient to meet Evan. Today the doctor said we could induce at any point now but I want to wait and let him come on his own time if he will. I'll be 40 weeks on Monday and my next appointment is on Tuesday.

Since this practice doesn't like to let you go more than a week past the due date, I'll probably have to schedule an induction on Tuesday if Evan hasn't surprised us before then. We shall see ...

A milestone

At 39 weeks even, today I'm officially the most pregnant I've ever been. At this point with Claire I was in the middle of a 25-hour stretch of labor; she was born six days before her due date. I have no signs whatsoever of labor, but I didn't with her, either, so I suppose he could come anytime.

At my 38-week appointment last Thursday I was 1 cm. dilated. At Amanda's 38-week appointment she was 5 cm. dilated and was holding her baby four hours later. I wonder who's living right?

When I made my 39-week appointment (for this Thursday morning) the secretary gave me the doctors' on-call schedule. I would strongly prefer that Evan be delivered by one of two doctors at the practice, and they happen to be on call for a combined five days this week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed but not getting my hopes up.

When Matt gets home I'll try to remember to get him to take a belly picture, since (hopefully) the baby bump will be gone soon. I have actually lost two pounds in the past couple of weeks -- due, I'm sure, to my muscles wasting away from not running in a week -- but my stomach is huge. Friends and strangers alike enjoy exclaiming over it. The bigger issue is that this baby is just crazy low -- I really don't think he could drop any lower. I only own two shirts that fully cover my stomach. It's so low that even underwear doesn't fit right anymore, never mind my jeans. I cannot wait to be back in my regular clothes.

I haven't had an ultrasound since the gender-reveal one and none of the doctors have estimated Evan's weight, but I have a feeling this is going to be a big baby. Come soon, little man!

Officially full-term

Last Friday was my 37-week appointment and as usual it was uneventful. For the first time I saw the new doctor who replaced the doctor who delivered Claire. Apparently his practice is to check everyone for dilation from 36 weeks on, so I got a surprise check (no progress, though). The other doctors at the practice don't check until 38 or 39 weeks unless you've had contractions or other signs of labor.

I turned in my last article this morning so am officially on break from work (except for editing, which, compared to writing, is much easier to do on short notice and little sleep). Now I'm going to focus on getting rested before this baby comes. I have been waking up every couple of hours during the night lately, not just to use the bathroom -- although I always do that too, why not? -- but because apparently it takes so much effort to roll over at this point that my unconscious mind and body can't handle it.

I am very sorry to report that I think I actually might be done with running for this pregnancy. I'm not writing it off for sure, but my last few runs have really left me in rough shape. My last hard run was Friday and it took me until Monday to recover. It's not a specific issue like the SI joint problem I had with Claire, it's just more general achiness -- basically it feels like my pelvis is splitting in two. It hurts.

As much as I want to run all the way through the pregnancy, it's hard to think the benefits outweight the cost right now. And I am at 38 weeks and 2 days today so hopefully Evan's arrival is right around the corner anyway.

Gettin' low

Yesterday was my 36-week appointment. As usual, no excitement, except that I continue to gain weight at an astounding rate. 2 pounds per week for the past three weeks! With Claire there was one month somewhere midway through the pregnancy where I gained most of my weight, and otherwise it was just a pound here and a pound there. This time it's been more steady and (generally) slow and I've also already gained five pounds more than I did last time, which isn't surprising because I am working out maybe a third to half as much as I did with Claire.

I suspected Evan had dropped sometime in the past week because I'd noticed my pants were fitting differently, and my measurements yesterday confirmed that he had. Claire dropped about three weeks before she was born, so we'll see if that holds true with Evan.

Matt's gone camping with the guys this weekend, and as long as I don't go into labor while he's away, it's actually good timing. I really really need to finish these stories that are due soon. I keep saying I'm not going to accept more assignments until after the baby comes, but it's hard not to. Money comes in handy.

4-week countdown

Had another good, uneventful doctor's appointment last Thursday -- the 35-week one. Baby's heartbeat and growth are fine. As for me, I've gained 4 pounds in the past two weeks. I'm sure that has everything to do with Evan and nothing to do with the three bags of Halloween candy Matt and I prematurely bought and devoured. Not to mention the approximately 10 days in that time period that I came up with great excuses not to run. Oh, well!

Finally remembered to ask the doctor a couple of questions I always forget, about circumcision methods (who knew?) and avoiding another sunny-side-up birth. I also got tested for group B strep infection and found out today that I am positive for it again, which means once again I'll be hooked up to penicillin throughout labor. The IV was a little cumbersome last time but really no big deal.

I'm 36 weeks today and we finally have bought Claire's toddler car seat (so Evan can have the infant one), and re-established the "nursery" off our bedroom with the cradle and a nursing chair. Claire's "new" dresser will also go in there temporarily, when and IF I ever finish painting it, with the changing pad on top, since she's staying in her room with the green furniture for the time being. So we may not be fully prepared, but at least he'll have somewhere to sleep if he shows up early.

Home stretch (or close to it)

Last Thursday was my 33-week doctor's appointment for Evan and as usual it was a "no news=good news" visit. I keep saying this, but I cannot believe how fast this pregnancy has gone by compared with Claire's. The weekly visits start next Thursday.

I also can't believe how much less prepared we are for his arrival than we were for hers. I thought we were fairly slack about her (didn't make it to the childbirth classes, didn't install her car seat until the day before I went into labor, never packed a hospital bag), but that doesn't hold a candle to this. We have done NOTHING to get ready for him.

Part of it's that we fortunately have nothing to buy, since everything except crib sheets and clothes was gender-neutral. (Thanks to grandparents and hand-me-downs, Evan is already outfitted for the first year of life. I'll get around to the crib sheets eventually.)

Part of it's that everything from the bouncer to the breast pump is lent out right now, though I guess we'll round it all up in a few weeks. But not having all that stuff in front of us as a visual reminder does, I think, make us sort of less conscious that we're about to do the baby thing all over again.

And part of it's that we're in limbo with the house being on the market -- there's still the chance, slimmer though it grows by the day, that we'll have moved by the time Evan's born. I'm not about to do any special nursery prep just to take it down while I'm still pregnant. Assuming we're still in this house when he's born, our plan is to keep Claire in her room, but move the glider back to the "extra" room in our master suite. That's where Evan will be sleeping (as Claire did, in Matt's old cradle) for probably several months.

I think we moved Claire into her own room at about six or eight weeks, but honestly, as long as I'm still nursing several times a night, it makes more sense to have the baby closer to us. (There's a pocket door between the rooms, so we don't hear every little noise.) And I really really want to avoid buying another crib for the small period of time in which they might both need one.

There are two schools of thought on this -- some people keep their kids in cribs for quite awhile, and others go ahead and move them into beds (or mattresses on the floor, which is probably the route we'll go) fairly young, around 18 or 20 months. There are obvious pros and cons to each but right now I'm leaning toward the latter. We'll see how it plays out.

I can hardly believe how much I've already forgotten about having a newborn. I am seriously going to have to relearn everything I knew last year about breastfeeding and sleep "training" (I hate that term, but for lack of a better one ...). This is what I get for not doing a baby book or really keeping any kind of journal!

Fortunately I have had many conversations with some other first-time moms who had babies between Claire and Evan (Sonya, Libba, Meg, this means you) about what worked with Claire and now I'm hoping these moms will refresh me on my own advice. Ridiculous. How do parents who wait three or four years between kids remember anything whatsoever? Or does it all miraculously come back to you? Or does it turn out you're always just flying by the seat of your pants?

Moving right along

Very quick baby update ... had a routine appointment today (31 weeks, 2 days) and all is going well. Evan's heart rate was 152 and my belly measurements were right on, at 31 centimeters. Pinehurst Surgical doesn't do 3D/4D ultrasounds unless they're medically necessary, but I think this is the visit where I would have had that done if I went to Southern Pines Women's Health.

I seriously spent about 45 minutes in the waiting room, 20 minutes waiting in the exam room and less than five minutes with the nurse practitioner ... and I was totally fine with that. While waiting, I had nothing to do besides read a good magazine (the Aug. 23 issue of Time, with a cover story on Jonathan Franzen). Claire was with Mom and Dad and Bri. Matt was at work. My computer was at home. My phone was in the car. No one needed me or wanted me. I enjoyed every minute. :)

Memories are fickle

I had my 29-week appointment today. I was supposed to have a 28-week one last week, but it got rescheduled because my doctor and his backup both got stuck in emergency surgeries the afternoon of my appointment. Everything was fine and routine today, as usual, thankfully -- good heartbeat, good movement, etc.

For the next six weeks I'll have an appointment every two weeks, then it will be every week until Evan's born. I have a feeling this pregnancy's about to start really flying by. I can't believe we're already at this point.

I have been feeling so pregnant lately. Not necessarily in a good way, more in a "None of my clothes fit, I'm running like a duck, I cannot easily paint my toenails" way. Running has gotten hard and awkward and uncomfortable, and it doesn't help that this is maybe the hottest summer on record.

I don't remember feeling so big and just ugh so soon with Claire, and I was planning to write a whiny post to that effect. But this is where it comes in handy to have Claire's baby blog for reference.

Check this out: The top picture is from when I was 30 weeks pregnant with Claire ... and the bottom one is from tonight (29 weeks and 2 days).

(The fact that I'm wearing nearly identical pajamas is just a coincidence.)

I also see that I spent most of my week-28 Claire post complaining about how hard running had gotten.

I'm really glad to know how I look and feel is right in line with the last pregnancy. This plate of chocolate chip cookies is helping my mood a lot too. So I'll cut the whining short and focus on them.

And he shall be called ...

Evan Bryce Kirby. My only hangup with Evan is that it's gotten so popular, but all of the boy names we really like are popular. Anyway, Bryce is much less common so helps balance it, I think.

And here's a belly shot. It is kind of a strange picture, taken while I was playing cornhole at the beach a few weeks ago. So it's from when I was probably 24 weeks pregnant. I have not taken a posed belly shot photo this whole pregnancy but maybe one of these days I will.

This might sound crazy and I might be imagining it, but I do think I'm carrying this baby Evan differently from how I carried Claire. I think he sits low, whereas she was always high until the last couple of weeks, when she dropped.

I've arrived at that lovely stage of pregnancy where I have to pee all the time. Before I leave for a run I think through my route and make sure there are places for pit stops (woods, port-a-potties or even actual bathroom facilities). With Claire it seems like this only lasted a few weeks, so I'm hoping for the same this time.

I just read on Claire's blog that 27 weeks, which I am today, marks the beginning of the third trimester. I can't believe we're two-thirds of the way there -- this one is flying by!

Diabetes-free

My 24-week appointment was last Tuesday and I figured I should blog about it before I forget the details. My regular doctor (who became such after he delivered Claire) just moved out of town, so at this appointment I saw my former regular doctor. I've always liked him although it does bug me that every time I see him he acts like we're meeting for the first time.

Anyway, all went well. The heartbeat was good and strong, 145 beats per minute. He is a very active baby, moving all the time, which I love. Claire was the same way.

One funny anecdote: The lovely and wonderful Melissa checked me in, and as we were doing weight, blood pressure, etc., we were both talking a mile a minute. A few minutes after she left me she came back and said, "What did we say your weight was?" I said, "Um, maybe 136? 138?" She said, "Well, why do they have in your chart that it was 150 last time?" I said, "I've never been 150 in my life!"

I went to reweigh. It was 136.8, which she rounded down to 136. That's what friends are for. A few minutes later she poked her head back in to say, "That was my bad -- I was looking at the fetal heart rate." If you know Melissa, the whole thing was hilarious.

This appointment was a week later than it should have been because we were at the beach last week, so I unexpectedly had to do the sugar test for gestational diabetes, which meant I was there an extra hour AND I had drunk two big glasses of sweet tea for lunch, immediately before the appointment. It isn't a fasting test, but still, I would have played it safe with water if I'd known. The test went fine, thankfully, and I'm glad it's out of the way.

I know people are starting to get impatient about K2's name and we're close, very close ... We actually have pretty much settled on his name, but the one we've chosen presents a dilemma, and deciding how to handle that is what's causing the announcement delay. We're close to closure on that secondary issue too, though. This probably sounds really vague and I will explain everything in detail soon! Don't worry, there's no real drama, just a lot of overthinking.

Next appointment is Aug. 11.

Hello, Mr. Mango

So this November baby is a boy after all! A very obvious boy ... I could say I'll scan and post ultrasound pictures, but I've already made two such empty promises on this blog, so I'll hold off.

I should have posted a final call before yesterday's ultrasound, but Matt and others who have been around me will vouch that I had come to strongly feel that it was a boy. It's really nice to know for sure, though -- now we can seriously think about names and find some more manly crib sheets.

I have NO IDEA how people who don't find out the sex can stand the suspense. Even if they don't have a preference, which we haven't either time. I have nowhere near that much self-discipline. Five months of waiting and wondering is plenty for both me and Matt.

Apparently this is one active kid. The ultrasound tech kept commenting on how all-over-the-place he was, and it's true -- I don't remember feeling Claire's movements so obviously until several weeks later in the pregnancy, although the difference may just be that now I know what it feels like for a baby to do somersaults in my stomach. He weighs about 9 ounces and everything looks perfect.

Hope to have a name announcement soon!

The onion

Dear poor neglected baby No. 2,

I just wanted to apologize for how much less attention I'm paying to you in utero than I did Claire. Hopefully when we find out whether you're a boy or a girl, and we pick out a name for you, and you force me into maternity clothes, and we set up your nursery, I'll find myself focusing on you more and more. I do love you, but I'm pretty busy and tired most of the time.

You'll get all the attention you deserve when you arrive, I promise. And as for now, if it's any consolation, I bet you're at least getting more attention than YOUR little brothers and/or sisters will be getting at this point.

I have not had a beer in four months, although a nice cold one is ALL I WANT on these summer nights. I pray for you a lot. I still think you're a boy, but I'm less sure every day.

Love, Mom

Healthy naval orange

I had my monthly doctor's appointment this morning. Everything seems fine. The doctor said the heartbeat is very strong and is at 150 beats per minute.

In other 15-week news, I think I've started to feel the baby move some, which is one of my favorite developments. I'm still feeling great although the supposed second-trimester energy hasn't kicked in yet.

I wore a belly band for the first time yesterday, with dress pants. I didn't have to, but it was more comfortable because dress pants sit higher than jeans, which still feel fine. And I knew I'd be overeating after church (Tripp's brunch with friends). It was a good call. I don't have a legitimate baby bump yet; I'm at that enviable point where my stomach's not totally flat and casual observers probably think I should cut back on the beer.

Our next appointment -- where we'll find out the sex! -- is June 7.

Aligned

This afternoon I went to the chiropractor for what may or may not be a pregnancy-related hip issue. I've had occasional hip, knee and foot ailments for 15 years thanks to running Lord only knows how many miles in that time. Usually the pain gets better with new shoes, a few rest days, varying terrain, etc.

But about a year ago, actually, I had a pretty painful month or so with my SI joint caused by pregnancy hormones. I put off dealing with it for so long that by the time I finally hobbled to the chiropractor I missed several weeks of running as part of the treatment.

One day last week I went running and within a couple of hours I couldn't walk without bad pain in my left hip. Although the location was different from last year's issue, it was the same kind of pain, and I decided (or should I say Matt decided) that I shouldn't procrastinate like that again. Especially since I was cured pretty much as soon as I finally went to the chiropractor last year.

It turns out the SI joint is to blame again, even though the pain is appearing in a different spot. It's kind of surprising that this is happening at 14 weeks when it didn't flare up until my third trimester last time, but I know my core is much weaker this time -- I'm not doing CrossFit, only running. That's probably a factor. Also, everything seems to be happening earlier this time (baby bump, hello).

In my opinion, the chiropractor is well worth the specialist copay ($40). I'm all adjusted and since the inflammation is much less severe than last time I don't have to take a break from running. I'm going to try to be diligent about stretching (something that has always seemed like too much trouble) and with any luck this will be the most SI joint trouble I have this pregnancy.

Lime time

I'm 11 weeks today (the baby's about the size of a lime) and I had my second doctor's visit. I had a pap smear and the doctor listened for the baby's heartbeat. He couldn't find it. He told me not to worry, it was because I'm only 11 weeks. (Looking back at Claire's blog, my other doctor heard her heartbeat with no problem at this point -- glad I didn't know that this morning.) Then he pulled in the portable ultrasound machine. Still couldn't find a heartbeat. He blamed it on my not having a full bladder. Next option: transvaginal ultrasound.

Finally! What looked like a blob three weeks ago is clearly a baby now, with waving arms and a heartbeat of 150 beats per minute.

So all's well that ends well, but I do not like that kind of suspense. Ninety-nine percent of the time I'm thankful not to have any pregnancy symptoms to speak of, but for a few minutes this morning, it would have been nice to tell myself, "Hey, I puked my guts out this morning -- I'm sure everything's fine."

My tiredness is gone. Really, I've been pretty much back to normal ever since the night I slept 14 straight hours a few weeks ago. It looks like I never wrote about that on this blog, but I mentioned it here.

I'm still having some food aversions, mainly to meat. Everything fresh and light sounds good. I'm also drinking caffeine, but trying not to overdo it. Usually I skip the morning coffee so I can enjoy Coke without guilt later in the day.

I have ultrasound pictures from this morning as well as the last appointment that I still intend to scan and post, but at the moment I'm out on the porch and it's just too nice to go inside until I have to.

The next appointment is on May 10, when I'll be 15 weeks, and after that we get to find out the sex! I still think it's a boy, but my confidence was badly shaken by the news that Meg and Drew are having a boy. I know it sounds dumb, but I was POSITIVE they were having a girl.

There are these drug-store tests now that you can take anytime after six weeks to find out the baby's sex, and supposedly they're like 85 percent accurate, but I think we're going to hold out. It's not much longer! Although, if anyone wants to donate $3o to the cause, I could be persuaded to pee on one more stick.

Heartbeat

Great doctor's visit this morning! We got to see the heartbeat (singular, by the way), which looks good, and based on the baby's measurements they're saying I'm 8 weeks 3 days, with a due date of Nov. 1. Which means there's a very good chance this will actually be an October baby, but I guess I might as well just leave the blog title as it is.

Not a lot more to say right now. I'll try to find time to scan and post the ultrasound picture -- not that you can tell much at all from it. Hooray for a beating heart!

Another baby!

I think I'm about 7.5 weeks pregnant, so I guess it's time to start another baby blog. I doubt this one will be as detailed as Claire's, and it's mostly her fault. Not so much time for blogging anymore!

My first doctor's appointment is Thursday so I should have an official due date then, but based on when I think I ovulated, I should be due around Nov. 5. That means Claire and this baby will be only 16 months apart, but because of how the birthdays fall, they'll be two grades apart. With the kindergarten cutoff date being Aug. 31 now, and Claire's birthday July 2, that was almost inevitable.

I'm feeling fine so far, but not as great as I did with Claire. Mainly, I'm beyond exhausted most days. I don't know if that's a sign of this pregnancy being "different" or just a sign that I'm taking care of an 8-month-old day, including still breastfeeding her, this time around. I definitely had a phase of extreme tiredness while pregnant with Claire -- I would come home from work and sleep on the couch for several hours before going to bed -- but it didn't hit this early or this hard.

This is a very long shot, but I have to note it for the record just in case I'm right. Maybe my tiredness is exacerbated by being pregnant with twins. Probably not, but when I was charting my temperatures I did have what could have been a second implantation dip. I'm not giving it much credibility at all because a) I wasn't charting very meticulously and b) my temperatures weren't that reliable because they were taken just an hour or two after Claire's early morning feeding (she usually sleeps through the night until eating around 5:30 a.m., then sleeps a couple more hours).

While we're making calls, I'll go ahead and predict that this is a boy, too. That's just my gut feeling and I know it's basically just a guess. All I know is that from the beginning of my Claire pregnancy, every time I thought of the baby or prayed for it I automatically referred to it as "she" and "her." And now it's "he" and "him."

My food aversions didn't hit until the beginning of the second trimester with Claire, but they're here in full force now. So many foods don't sound good -- it's not that the thought of them makes me feel sick or anything, but they just sound unappealing. I'm liking a lot of fresh stuff, and relatively bland stuff. I am so ready for the farmers markets to open again.

I also almost had my first-ever bout of morning sickness last weekend. Friday night Claire and I spent the night at Sallie's house, along with Maegan and her babies. Saturday morning Sallie had to go to work early, and Maegan had to get on the road because her dad was coming into town for a visit, so there was about a 15-minute interval before the babysitter arrived when I was watching Claire and both of Sallie's kids. We were playing on the floor when all of the sudden I thought, "I am going to puke." I headed straight for the toilet and stayed there for a minute, but it passed. Then I ate a bunch of saltines.

I know that's not much of a story as far as morning sickness goes, but I never had even a touch of queasiness with Claire. There's basically nothing I dislike as much as throwing up, so I will be ever so grateful if Saturday's almost-episode was just a fluke.